Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Bloom, Work, One Year

The gardenia boomed.

There's the bud.

Bloomed!

The bloom smelled beautiful. It's nearly gone now, but it was wonderful while it lasted.

Today, Kate and I are hanging out near the apartment, waiting for a new water heater to arrive. We've been without hot water since yesterday morning. It hasn't been too difficult, though, granted, it's only been a day. Hopefully nothing will delay the install, otherwise I'll find out what it's like to really go without. Heaven forbid.

Yesterday was a work day for me. You read that right. I'm working very, very part time at the Embassy as a swimming and water aerobics instructor. I haven't been in a pool since early pregnancy. It feels good to be home. When I was a kid, I used to get a lot of anxiety before attending swim classes, even though I enjoyed swimming. Come to find out, I also get a lot of anxiety before teaching swim classes. That doesn't seem fair. Kate's been attending my aerobics class, and assisting me by boosting my ego on the drive home. My classes are small, but I love them just the same.

The downside to being back in the pool after a year is that I've had a whole year to get out of pool shape. Teaching is exhausting. I've been wearing Kate out, too. She's sleeping in the recliner right now.

It's been over a year since we moved to Greece. Despite my avowed hatred of the place while nauseous with morning sickness, I like it a lot now, and will be sad to leave next year. Phil has liked Greece from the beginning, but I'm convinced Phil could be content in an underground dirt hole in the desert. Oh, to be Phil. There are a lot of things to love about this country. The people are kind. The weather is amazing. The food is...fine. You can get delicious produce for bargain prices. Medical care is fantastic. Children are revered. There are cool things to see, and interesting places to explore. It's easy to find outdoorsy things to do, and you can do them pretty much year-round. It's a safe place to live, and it's absolutely beautiful.

Bella is the only one of us who feels ambivalent about Greece. There's not much grass in Athens, people get up in her face a lot, and there is too much beach for her taste. I'm not sure how The Kid feels about Greece. I'm not sure he's sure how he feels about it.

I wanted to bake a cake to celebrate our one year anniversary of Greek life, but the moment passed. Here's what it would have looked like:

This is actually Phil's birthday cake from a while ago. Those candles were made by my sister last year for our Homemade Christmas celebration. They burned bright, and smelled like good beeswax.

I want to take a nap, but I'm behind on thank you cards, emails, chores, and a few other things I've forgotten. At least I blogged. I can check that off my list.